Valley of Fire to Hold Bio-Blitz

The Valley of Fire State Park is hosting an all-day “Bio-Blitz” event on Saturday, April 23. The event includes five guided wildlife surveys throughout the day, an animal Meet and Greet event for kids, and various informational presentations. All of the public, young and old, are invited to the festivities.

The Bio-Blitz will allow park guests to work alongside wildlife bioligists, park rangers, herpetologists, educators, botanists and nature professionals and enthusiasts to identify and catalog wildlife and plant species existing in the park.

“The real goal of a Bio-Blitz is to just find and identify as many wildlife and plant species as possible in a particular area during a particular set time period,” said Valley of Fire Park Interpreter Kayla Wolfe in an interview last week.

Adults and older youth can sign up to participate in any of five different wildlife searches scheduled throughout the day on Saturday. These activities are 2-3 hour guided events beginning at 5 am, 8 am, 12 noon, 3 pm and 7 pm. All of the wildlife surveys will begin at The Beehives area in the park.

Kids and adults alike can meet one or more of the Nevada Department of Wildlife’s animal ambassadors at the Animal Meet and Greet which take place at the Atlatl Rock picnic area at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm.

There will also be a number of presentations from Valley of Fire Park Rangers, a local botanist and a herpetologist. All of these take place at the park Visitor’s Center. A presentation entitled “Bees” will take place at noon. Another entitled “Plants” will begin at 2 pm. And finally a presentation entitled “Rattlesnakes” will begin at 4 pm. Each presentation will last 30 minutes.

“There will be something for everyone,” said Wolfe. “People who want to be a part of the wildlife surveys can register for a time when they are available. But if, for any reason, they can’t stay for the whole survey, they are totally welcome to just get some instructions about what we are doing and just kind of work on their own.”

For more information about the event, or to register to participate, visit http://parks.nv.gov/events/bioblitz-1.